PPL Corp. is shedding its electricity generating business by combining its division that creates and sells energy with a similar division of another company to form a stand-alone, independent power producer.

Talen Energy, which will generate power to be sold not only in the mid-Atlantic and Montana areas PPL serves, but also in new markets including Texas, will be established in a yet-to-be-determined location in Pennsylvania.

PPL spokesman Ryan Hill said PPL Electric Utilities, which sells electricity as a public utility, will remain at its Allentown headquarters and will “continue its focus on delivering safe, reliable energy.” The formation of the new company will not affect PPL Electric Utilities customers or their bills, he said.

Talen Energy will combine the 5,325 megawatts of capacity Riverstone owns that are produced at 15 sites in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Massachusetts with 9,995 megawatts of capacity PPL owns that are produced at 12 sites in Pennsylvania and Montana. The energy will continue to be produced at the existing facilities.

Although the PPL Susquehanna plant will become part of Talen Energy, Hill said, “We don’t expect any major impact on Susquehanna.”

The name on the plant will change, but its personnel won’t: Leadership will remain the same, there won’t be any layoffs, and it will continue to be a strong presence in the community, Hill said.

“Our commitment to safe and responsible operation will not change,” he said.

PPL Corp. will not have any ownership interest in Talen Energy, but its shareholders will own 65 percent of it and Riverstone’s shareholders will own 35 percent, according to a press release issued Tuesday.

Riverstone Holdings LLC, a private investment firm focusing on the energy industry, including buyouts and growth investments in natural gas, oil, power production and renewable energy, was founded in 2000 and has offices in New York, London, Houston and Mexico City.

Before a U.S. nuclear power plant can take on new ownership, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must review and approve the application to transfer the operating license, a process that takes about a year, NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

He said the federal agency has to evaluate a number of areas, including whether the prospective owner has the technical capability to operate the plant, and is financially able to safely decommission it when the time comes.

“As far as we’re concerned, there has to be this thorough review before we can approve it,” Sheehan said.

He said the ownership change also has to be approved by other agencies including the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.

The Unit 2 reactor at PPL Susquehanna has been under increased NRC scrutiny since it experienced four unplanned shutdowns: Nov. 9, Dec. 16 and Dec. 19, 2012 and Sept. 14, 2013, placing it in a category with only five other of the nation’s 102 nuclear reactors: “Degraded cornerstone.”

PPL has been working to correct the problems and is poised to go back to normal federal oversight if Unit 2 passes a thorough inspection, likely sometime this summer.

Even if owned by a new company, the plant would remain under the appropriate level of NRC oversight.

“Our regulations stay the same regardless of who the owner of record is,” Sheehan said. “The big issue for us is the safety of the plant, so we want to make sure the new owner of the plant will operate it as safely as possible.”

PPL had applied to build a new nuclear reactor at Bell Bend, near the existing Susquehanna plant, but in 2012 the NRC put an indefinite hold on the final permit until the issue of spent fuel storage is resolved.

Asked whether the plant’s new ownership would affect the proposed expansion, Hill said PPL is not making any immediate changes to its plans, but will continue to evaluate them through the closing process. After the closing, Talen management will make decisions about the future of the plants, including whether to continue with the Bell Bend reactor.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.